PAM.  /(W*? 

M1SC. 


?■ 


Survey  of  the  Field 


grxyo 

Facts  and  Figures 
of  the  Missions  of 
the  M.  E.  Church 
South  for  1909 . 


The  Field  Is  the  World. — Matt.  13:38 


By  the  Secretaries  of  the  Board  of 
Missions,  810  Broadway,  Nashville,  Tenn. 


Survey  of  the  Field 


MISSIONS  OF  THE  M.  E.  CHURCH,  SOUTH 

1909 


PREPARED  BY  THE  SECRETARIES 


China. 


Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin,  former  President  of  the 
Imperial  University  in  Peking,  a  man  who  has 
had  exceptional  opportunities  for  observation, 
has  recently  made  the  following  statement: 
“Hitherto  the  ruling  classes  have  been  suspi¬ 
cious  of  Christianity,  having  been  schooled  in 
the  belief  that  the  aim  of  missions  is  to  steal 
away  the  hearts  of  the  people  and  prepare  the 
way  for  foreign  conquest.  But  these  absurd 
prejudices  are  now  dying  out,  and  the  truths  of 
the  gospel  meet  with  willing  hearers  if  judi¬ 
ciously  brought  to  their  attention.” 

In  a  country  where  the  literati  have  such  pre¬ 
eminent  influence  it  is  a  matter  of  great  en¬ 
couragement  that  prejudice  should  be  breaking 
down  and  a  state  of  open-mindedness  taking  its 
place.  It  speaks  much  for  the  possibilities 
wrapped  up  in  the  future.  Both  the  Soochow 
University  and  the  Anglo-Chinese  College  have 
an  attendance  up  to  the  full  measure  of  their 
capacity,  and  this  is  true  of  every  other  school 
in  the  mission.  It  is  amazing  how  at  a  single 
stroke  an  entire  educational  system  in  vogue 
for  twelve  centuries,  the  pride  and  glory  of  four 
hundred  million  people,  “was  wiped  out  and 
Western  learning  made  a  condition  of  future 
employment  in  government  service.  A  nation 
accepting  without  protest  or  revolt  a  revolution 
in  the  educational  system  so  bold,  so  startling, 
so  far-reaching”  is  a  fact  unknown  to  history. 
The  completion  of  the  railroad  to  Nanking 
opens  a  great  artery  of  travel  and  communica- 


tion  through  the  very  center  of  the  territory- 
occupied  by  our  Church.  That  territory  teems 
with  its  millions.  Every  square  mile  of  it 
should  be  shot  through  and  through  with  the 
light  of  the  gospel. 

We  now  have  in  China:  Missionaries  (in¬ 
cluding  wives),  66;  native  traveling  preachers, 
22;  local  preachers,  32;  members,  2,321;  in¬ 
crease,  163;  Sunday  schools,  58;  scholars,  2,- 
228;  Epworth  Leagues,  32;  members,  916;  or¬ 
ganized  Churches,  41;  self-supporting  Churches, 
7;  boarding  schools,  4;  pupils,  523;  day  schools, 
13;  pupils,  344;  hospital,  1;  dispensaries,  2; 
patients  treated,  20,901;  total  collections  on  the 
field,  4,064;  total  value  of  mission  property, 
$257,425. 


Kobea. 

This  is  the  most  remarkable  field  in  modern 
missions.  Its  ripeness  and  its  accessibility 
challenge  the  faith  of  Christendom.  The  open- 
mindedness  of  the  people,  their  sensitiveness  to 
the  spirit  of  truth,  the  simplicity  of  their  faith, 
the  joy  of  it,  its  propagating  power,  and  the  he¬ 
roic  devotion  of  even  the  youngest  converts 
make  it  a  thrilling  chapter  in  the  history  of 
missions.  Where  can  there  be  found  a  greater 
demonstration  of  the  power  of  the  Spirit  and  of 
the  adequacy  of  the  gospel? 

Only  twenty-five  years  ago  there  were  no  con¬ 
verts;  now  there  are  over  125,000.  Only  ten 
years  ago  our  mission  was  opened  by  Bishop 
Hendrix  and  Dr.  C.  F.  Reid  with  one  member; 
dow  we  number  3,545  communicants,  2,536  pro¬ 
bationers,  95  helpers  (including  colporteurs  and 
Bible  women),  and  3,049  Sunday  school  schol¬ 
ars.  During  the  past  year  1,459  were  baptized 
upon  profession  of  faith,  and  54  chapels  were 
built.  This  is  a  marvelous  record,  and  yet  it 
could  be  multiplied  tenfold  had  we  the  needed 
force  upon  the  field. 

The  converts  become  evangelists,  and  it  is 
not  infrequent  that  a  Christian  moving  into  a 
new  community  where  a  missionary  has  not 
been  seen  will  gather  about  him  a  congregation 
1*  t  3  ] 


and  teach  them  as  best  he  can  the  gospel  he  has 
crudely  learned. 

It  is  impossible  to  give  them  the  instruction 
needed  with  our  limited  force.  The  growth, 
great  as  it  is,  does  not  represent  the  possibili¬ 
ties  but  only  the  working  capacity  of  our  mis¬ 
sionaries.  We  need  a  larger  force,  and  with  an 
adequate  number  of  workers  our  missionaries 
believe  that  in  ten  years  they  can  evangelize 
the  part  of  the  country  allotted  to  us. 

Missionaries  (including  their  wives),  39; 
members,  3,565  (increase,  1,577,  almost  eighty 
per  cent);  Sunday  schools,  45;  scholars,  3,049; 
organized  Churches,  225;  Churches  self-support¬ 
ing,  89;  boarding  school,  1;  pupils,  225;  day 
schools,  2;  pupils,  67;  hospitals  and  dispensa¬ 
ries,  4;  patients  treated,  9,414;  total  collections 
on  the  field,  $4,384;  total  value  of  mission  prop¬ 
erty,  $66,000. 

Japan. 

We  began  work  in  Japan  twenty-three  years 
ago.  The  progress  has  been  steady.  In  May, 
1907,  the  Methodist  Church  of  Japan  was 
formed  by  the  union  in  one  body  of  the  Meth¬ 
odist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  the  Methodist 
Episcopal,  and  the  Methodist  Church  of  Cana¬ 
da.  This  united  Church  began  with  more  than 
11,000  members  and  100  Japanese  preachers. 
Measured  by  the  reports  that  come  to  us  and  by 
the  actual  gain  in  membership,  the  work  has 
prospered  under  the  new  regime. 

The  Committee  on  the  General  State  of  the 
Work  reports  as  follows:  “The  six  months  since 
the  Annual  Conference  have  proven  satisfac¬ 
tory  beyond  expectation.  The  work  taken  over 
by  the  Conference  and  that  remaining  under 
missionary  direction  have  both  gone  forward 
with  new  vigor  and  continued  success.  The  re¬ 
lations  between  the  missionaries  and  the  Japa¬ 
nese  pastors  and  people  have  been  happy.  The 
Japanese  leaders,  from  the  Bishop  down,  have 
sought  the  counsel  and ‘cooperation  of  the  mis¬ 
sionaries,  and  have  gladly  responded  to  invita¬ 
tions  to  work  in  the  missionary  circuits.  On 
the  other  hand,  missionaries  have  rendered  val- 

I  4  ] 


liable  help  in  charges  served  by  Japanese 
preachers,  and  have  had  frequent  invitations  to 
do  so.” 

A  few  figures  may  be  of  interest.  In  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  at  the  time 
of  the  union  there  were  in  our  three  districts 
1,837  members,  15  stations  or  circuits,  14  church 
buildings,  and  6  parsonages,  with  56  Sunday 
schools  and  an  enrollment  of  4,984  scholars. 
In  the  last  report  from  the  same  districts  (now 
included  in  the  Japanese  Church)  there  are  2,- 
249  members,  66  Sunday  schools,  5,683  scholars, 
and  an  increase  in  one  district  of  at  least  fifty- 
nine  per  cent  in  the  collections  for  pastoral  sup¬ 
port. 

In  the  educational  work,  which  continues 
under  the  mission,  we  have  secured  government 
recognition  of  the  Biblical  Department  of  the 
Kwansei  Gakuin.  This  puts  the  work  upon  a 
more  substantial  basis  and  adds  greatly  to  its 
standing  and  prestige.  The  determination  upon 
the  part  of  the  Churches  in  Richmond,  Va., 
to  raise  $12,000  for  a  building  and  equipment 
for  the  training  of  ministerial  students  will  en¬ 
able  us  in  some  adequate  measure  to  meet  the 
demands  in  Central  and  Western  Japan.  Our 
need  is  better  provision  for  the  evangelistic 
work  of  the  missionaries,  both  by  increasing  the 
supply  of  workers  and  by  the  renting  or  build¬ 
ing  of  chapels  for  evangelistic  services.  The 
opening  of  the  College  Department  and  the  in¬ 
creased  emphasis  given  to  biblical  work  ought 
to  furnish  the  native  helpers;  but  the  home 
Church  must  provide  the  funds  for  the  chap¬ 
els  and  the  extension  of  the  work  itself. 

Mexico. 

Three  great  forces  are  working  together  for 
the  regeneration  of  Mexico:  the  public  school, 
industrial  progress,  and  Protestantism.  The 
first  gives  greater  distribution  to  knowledge. 
The  proportion  of  illiterates  is  being  steadily 
reduced.  A  new  intellectual  freedom  is  dawn¬ 
ing.  The  class  that  works  only  with  hands  and 
feet  in  blind  and  dumb  submission  is  being  re- 

I  5  ] 


duced,  and  the  class  that  thinks  and  aspires  in 
a  noble  discontent  is  being  steadily  recruited. 
The  industrial  progress  is  creating  a  wider  dis¬ 
tribution  of  wealth.  Wages  have  increased 
from  two  hundred  to  four  hundred  per  cent  in 
two  decades.  The  demand  for  skilled  labor  has 
multiplied.  The  springing  up  of  new  industries 
and  the  influx  of  foreign  capital  have  created 
new  demands  for  labor.  All  this,  while  it  en¬ 
riches  the  few,  also  adds  to  the  comfort  and  in¬ 
dependence  of  the  many.  This  lifts  the  tone  of 
self-respect  to  a  higher  key  and  feeds  the  desire 
for  better  things.  This  emancipation  of  mind 
and  body  is  constantly  swelling  the  ranks  of 
Mexico’s  greatest  need — a  vigorous,  intelligent, 
self-respecting  middle  class  who  share  neither 
the  special  privileges  of  the  rich  nor  the  help¬ 
less  submission  of  the  poor. 

Amid  these  changes  Protestantism  has  been 
working  like  a  leaven  for  thirty  years.  It  acts 
as  a  cause  and  an  answer  to  the  new  conditions. 
It  not  only  helps  mightily  to  foster  the  spirit  of 
inquiry  and  of  personal  independence,  but 
brings  the  evangel  of  a  free  gospel,  unattended 
by  any  despotic  hierarchy  or  bewildering  priest¬ 
craft.  Hence  the  conditions  are  growing  more 
favorable.  We  are  able  now  to  reach  a  more 
intelligent  class  of  people.  The  progress  is  es¬ 
sentially  slow,  but  it  is  steady,  and  the  day  of 
greater  progress  is  at  hand. 

In  1873  Bishop  Keener,  in  the  City  of  Mexico, 
laid  the  foundation  of  our  mission  in  that  coun¬ 
try.  The  combined  statistics  of  the  Central 
(organized  in  1886),  the  Northwest  (organized 
in  1890),  and  the  Mexican  Border  (organized 
in  1885) — three  Mission  Conferences  in  Mexico, 
which  represent  the  fruits  of  incessant  toil  and 
heroic  devotion  for  over  forty  years — are:  Mis¬ 
sionaries  (including  their  wives),  61;  native 
traveling  preachers,  45;  local  preachers,  62; 
members,  7,037  (increase,  216);  Sunday  schools, 
126;  scholars,  5,068;  Epworth  Leagues,  46; 
members,  1,449;  organized  Churches,  156; 
Churches  self-supporting,  3;  boarding  schools, 
10;  pupils,  1,542;  day  schools,  8;  pupils,  1,476; 

[6] 


hospital,  1;  patients  treated,  34,327;  total  col¬ 
lections  on  the  field,  $8,078;  value  of  mission 
property,  $327,176. 


Bbazil. 

Methodism  is  making  steady  and  substantial 
progress  in  Brazil.  Bishop  Hoss  presided  over 
the  Conference  for  the  fourth  time  last  year, 
and  pronounced  it  the  best  that  had  been  held, 
judged  by  the  returns  and  by  the  spirit  of  the 
men  who  participated  in  the  sessions.  The  at¬ 
mosphere  has  cleared,  there  is  no  longer  any 
danger  of  a  schism,  and  the  Churches  have  rest 
and  peace.  The  way  is  open  to  press  both  evan¬ 
gelistic  and  educational  work,  and  nothing  is 
lacking  save  men  and  money. 

In  a  summarized  statement  by  Rev.  H.  C. 
Tucker  there  are  23  clerical  members  in  full 
connection,  besides  those  of  the  South  Brazil 
Mission,  where  there  are  6  clerical  members  in 
full  connection  and  4  on  trial.  In  all  there  are 
95  foreign  missionaries  and  native  ordained 
and  local  preachers  engaged  in  active  service. 
Including  a  number  of  teachers  and  Bible  wom¬ 
en  who  give  their  entire  time  to  Christian  work, 
there  are  about  120  on  the  field  sustained  by 
the  Mission  Boards  and  the  native  Church. 
The  number  of  Church  members  now  in  the 
Conference  is  4,456,  and  in  the  South  Brazil 
Mission  1,158,  making  a  total  of  5,614.  Thirty 
years  ago  we  had  only  6  members.  They  are 
liberal  to  an  unusual  degree.  Two  years  ago 
they  averaged  $6  per  member  in  their  gifts  to 
the  Church. 

There  were  208  baptized  on  profession  of 
faith  in  the  mission  and  309  in  the  Conference 
during  the  year.  In  the  eighteen  mission 
schools  there  were  matriculated  1,600  pupils. 
Including  membership,  school  attendance,  Sun¬ 
day  schools,  and  Epworth  Leagues,  there  are  at 
least  10,000  souls  who  are  being  taught  and  in¬ 
doctrinated  by  our  workers.  This  is  no  mean 
body,  and  is  one  which  can  be  relied  upon  in 
the  future  for  the  evangelization  of  Brazil 
through  a  native  agency.  Brother  Tucker  adds 

[7] 


that  more  than  $12,000  was  contributed  for  the 
support  of  the  ministry  in  the  divisions  of  the 
field — an  average  of  about  $2  per  member.  Our 
people  are  not  rich,  and  the  cost  of  living  is 
high.  Too  much  cannot  be  said  concerning  the 
noble  spirit  of  self-denial  in  which  they  have 
devised  liberal  things  for  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel  in  their  midst. 

The  only  Methodism  working  in  Brazil  is  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  The  Meth¬ 
odist  Episcopal  Church  withdrew  a  few  years 
ago  and  turned  their  work  over  to  us.  We 
should  prove  ourselves  equal  to  the  task  and 
worthy  of  the  responsibility. 

Cuba. 

The  Conference  held  in  Cuba  last  January 
celebrated  writh  an  interesting  Anniversary  the 
close  of  the  tenth  year  of  the  mission.  If  we 
felt  that  the  call  was  clear  and  loud  for  us  to 
enter  that  field,  the  results  of  the  first  decade 
have  more  than  justified  the  conviction.  The 
growth  in  membership,  in  extent  of  territory, 
and  in  influence  has  been  continuous  and 
healthy.  We  are  now  intrenched  in  every  im¬ 
portant  city  in  the  island,  with  fairly  good 
houses  of  worship  and  hopeful,  earnest,  and 
growing  memberships.  Prom  these  centers  the 
work  is  spreading  to  the  towns  and  villages. 
There  is  a  remarkable  readiness,  often  eager¬ 
ness,  to  hear  the  gospel,  and  this  disposition 
is  increasing.  At  the  last  Conference  a  plan 
was  projected  for  a  great  stride  toward  self- 
support  by  fixing  an  assessment  on  the  charges 
eighty  per  cent  greater  than  was  raised  last 
year,  and  making  the  pastors  responsible  for 
raising  it.  This  met  with  the  unanimous  ap¬ 
proval  of  the  Conference;  indeed,  it  was 
hailed  with  delight  as  a  new  note  of  victory. 
This  will  not  only  increase  the  income,  but  it 
will  strengthen  the  Churches  in  the  noble  spir¬ 
it  they  have  shown  from  the  beginning. 

This  is  one  mission  field  in  which  we  are  in 
sight  of  the  possibility  of  evangelizing  “our 
share”  in  this  generation.  We  reckon  ourselves 

[  8  ] 


responsible  for  one  million  of  the  population. 
There  is  no  other  Methodism  to  share  the  field 
with  us.  With  a  few  more  men  and  women  and 
increased  equipment  we  will  be  in  the  way  to 
discharge  our  obligation  to  the  island,  but  not 
until  we  have  better  provisions  for  the  training 
of  a  native  ministry.  The  greatest  need  now 
is  a  “School  of  the  Prophets,”  where  bright 
young  men  who  are  offering  for  the  ministry 
can  be  prepared  for  their  work.  The  need  of 
this,  as  of  every  mission,  is  a  strong,  intelli¬ 
gent,  consecrated  native  ministry.  We  can 
hardly  hope  for  this  till  we  provide  the  means 
to  produce  it.  Candler  College  is  doing  much, 
but  it  needs  enlargement  and  endowment  to 
make  possible  its  greater  work.  We  are  happy 
to  say  that  through  the  liberality  of  a  layman 
we  are  soon  to  be  in  the  way  to  realize  this. 
A  suitable  and  eligible  site  has  been  purchased 
and  work  is  being  done  on  the  new  building. 

The  results  of  the  labors  during  these  ten 
years  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  sta¬ 
tistics:  Missionaries  (including  their  wives), 
32;  native  traveling  preachers,  11;  local  preach¬ 
ers,  20;  members,  3,001  (an  increase  of  174); 
Sunday  schools,  43;  pupils,  2,315;  Epworth 
Leagues,  14;  members,  542;  organized  Church¬ 
es,  44;  boarding  schools,  4;  pupils,  608;  day 
school,  1;  pupils,  150;  collections  on  the  field, 
$13,794;  value  of  mission  property,  $209,183. 

The  Home  Mission  Depabtment. 

There  is  a  rising  tide  of  interest  in  home  mis¬ 
sion  work.  The  larger  view  of  missions  regards 
home  and  foreign  missions  as  essentially  one. 
The  evangelization  of  the  world  in  this  genera¬ 
tion  embraces  “every  creature”  in  the  home 
land  as  well  as  in  the  foreign  field.  Home 
problems  year  by  year  become  more  complex 
and  press  for  solution.  They  have  not  been 
solved  by  local  Churches  and  Conference 
Boards  of  Missions.  Their  solution  is  for  con- 
nectional  Methodism. 

Results  demonstrate  that  the  Home  Depart¬ 
ment  of  the  Board  of  Missions  has  a  field  and 

[  9  ] 


renders  a  distinct  service.  It  is  the  medium 
of  correspondence  and  unit  of  administration 
for  the  whole  Church  in  the  difficult  work  of 
evangelizing  the  Churchless  masses  of  the  large 
cities,  incoming  aliens,  and  other  exceptional 
peoples. 

The  Home  Mission  Department  the  past  year 
made  substantial  progress.  For  “specials”  un¬ 
der  its  direction  $49,000  was  pledged  by  the 
laymen  during  the  last  round  of  Annual  Con¬ 
ferences.  As  fast  as  this  money  has  been  real¬ 
ized  new  work  has  been  projected  and  more 
missionaries  employed.  Through  Conference 
Boards  of  Missions  six  new  missions  have  been 
opened  among  foreign-speaking  people  in  Lou¬ 
isiana,  Texas,  and  West  Virginia.  The  Board 
of  Missions  is  doing  successful  work  among 
the  Germans,  Bohemians,  French,  Indians,  Cu¬ 
bans,  and  Italians. 

Under  a  Joint  Commission  representing  the 
Boards  of  Missions,  Church  Extension,  and 
Woman’s  Home  Mission  Society  a  Port  Immi¬ 
grant  Home,  with  a  Sailors’  Department,  has 
been  established  at  Galveston,  Tex.,  and  a  Sail¬ 
ors’  House  at  Gulfport,  Miss.  This  Joint  Com¬ 
mission  has  inaugurated  an  aggressive  policy 
for  the  city  of  New  Orleans  whereby  a  city 
mission  has  been  located  below  Canal  Street 
and  three  downtown  Churches  have  been  placed 
upon  a  missionary  basis. 

German  Mission. 

When  our  German  Mission  in  Texas  was 
founded,  in  1846,  there  were  probably  not  more 
than  10,000  Germans  in  the  State.  At  the  pres¬ 
ent  time  350,000  is  a  conservative  estimate  of 
the  German-speaking  population  of  Texas.  In 
spite  of  the  Americanizing  influences  at  work, 
the  German  colonies  are  steadily  growing  both 
by  birth  and  immigration. 

A  special  committee  consisting  of  German 
Methodist  preachers  in  reporting  conditions 
says:  “In  the  greater  part  of  the  German  terri¬ 
tory  in  Texas  the  people  are  not  reached  by  any 
gospel  agency.  The  Roman  Catholic  and  Lu- 

1 10  ] 


theran  Churches  exercise  traditional  influence 
over  the  people,  and  tens  of  thousands  are  too 
far  from  church  buildings  to  attend  the  Ger¬ 
man-speaking  churches,  and  few  of  them  are 
reached  with  the  gospel  of  any  other  tongue.” 

The  laymen  of  Texas  during  the  last  round 
of  Annual  Conferences  pledged  $35,000  for  a 
forward  movement  to  evangelize  the  foreign 
population  of  the  State.  The  German  Mission 
Conference,  as  laborious,  self-sacrificing,  and 
devoted  a  band  as  is  found  in  all  Southern 
Methodism,  led  in  this  movement. 

Bohemian  Mission. 

Next  to  the  Germans,  the  Bohemians  are  the 
largest  foreign-speaking  people  in  Texas.  With¬ 
in  the  past  two  years  our  Church  has  estab¬ 
lished  Bohemian  Missions,  with  Georgetown 
and  Yoakum  as  centers  of  operation,  employ¬ 
ing  four  native  missionaries.  Rev.  V.  Cejnar, 
the  pioneer  missionary,  teaches  a  class  of  ten 
young  Bohemians  in  Southwestern  Univer¬ 
sity,  publishes  a  paper  in  the  Bohemian  lan¬ 
guage,  and  superintends  the  Bohemian  work 
within  the  hounds  of  the  Northwest  Texas  Con¬ 
ference. 

French  Mission. 

This  work  is  chiefly  among  the  quarter  of  a 
million  of  French-speaking  Creoles  in  the  lower 
part  of  Louisiana.  From  the.  time  of  their 
settlement  in  this  country  the  entire  popula¬ 
tion  has  been  under  the  sway  of  Romanism. 
Education  of  the  masses  has  been  wofully  neg¬ 
lected,  while  the  absence  of  the  Bible  from 
their  homes  is  lamentable.  We  now  have  3 
men  laboring  successfully  among  these  people. 
We  have  140  members,  40  of  whom  were  re¬ 
ceived  last  year.  There  are  140  in  our  Sunday 
schools. 

Work  among  Itaxians. 

Our  work  among  Italians  continues  to  prosper 
per  and  enlarge.  We  now  have  Italian  Missions 
at  Ybor  City,  Fla.,  Galveston,  Thurher,  and  Bry¬ 
an,  Tex.,  in  New  Orleans,  and  at  two  points  in 
West  Virginia.  No  foreign-speaking  people  in 

C  11 1 


America  are  more  open  to  the  gospel  than  the 
Italians.  Our  “Little  Italy”  Mission  at  Ybor 
City  has  ma'de  fine  progress  the  past  year. 
Twenty  members  were  received  into  the  Church, 
making  a  total  enrollment  of  199.  The  Sunday 
school  enrolled  225,  and  had  an  average  attend¬ 
ance  of  110.  The  day  school  had  an  average  at¬ 
tendance  of  200,  and  the  night  school  of  GO. 
Two  of  our  most  efficient  Italian  pastors  were 
converted  and  trained  in  our  own  “Little  Italy” 
Mission.  The  possibilities  of  this  plant,  lo¬ 
cated  in  an  Italian  colony  of  9,000  people,  are 
limited  only  by  the  capacity  of  our  buildings 
and  working  force.  We  are  in  great  need  of 
larger  church  and  school  buildings. 

Cubans  in  Florida. 

The  past  year  has  witnessed  a  revival  of  in¬ 
terest  in  our  Cuban  Church  at  Tampa,  Fla. 
The  improving  and  modernizing  of  the  church, 
the  introduction  of  some  institutional  methods, 
and  special  efforts  of  the  working  force  result¬ 
ed  in  an  enlarged  attendance  upon  the  services 
and  a  quickened  life  in  the  different  depart¬ 
ments  of  the  work.  The  pastor  reported  to  the 
Florida  Conference  21  new  members  and  42  on 
probation.  In  West  Tampa  we  need  at  once  a 
well-equipped  institutional  plant  to  reach  the 
7,000  orAnore  Cubans  and  Spaniards  in  that 
part  of  the  city  who  are  without  the  gospel. 
For  this  purpose  the  laymen  of  the  Florida 
Conference  have  pledged  a  special  of  $5,000. 

Indian  Work. 

Results  have  justified  the  wisdom  of  segre¬ 
gating  our  Indian  work  among  the  Five  Civi¬ 
lized  Tribes.  The  past  Conference  year  366 
members  were  received  into  the  Church,  giving 
a  total  membership  of  2,928.  One  presiding  eld¬ 
er  reports  ten  new  churches  and  three  parson¬ 
ages.  In  this  district  every  seventh  man  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Church.  The  work 
among  the  Wild  Tribes  has  been  included  in 
the  surrounding  district  for  whites.  The  total 
membership  is  382,  with  a  net  gain  the  past 
year  of  twentyone  per  cent. 

[  12  ] 


Hebrew  Mission-. 


The  missionary.  Rev.  Julius  Magath,  has  de¬ 
voted  his  time  to  the  creating  of  a  gen¬ 
eral  interest  among  Jews  and  Christians.  For 
the  successful  development  of  this  work  there 
should  be  local  headquarters  with  regular  serv¬ 
ices,  which  would  be  both  a  nucleus  and  an 
object  lesson  for  the  entire  Church.  A  conse¬ 
crated  young  Jew  is  being  educated  by  the 
Church  for  mission  work  among  his  own  peo¬ 
ple.  An  earnest  exhorter  in  the  mountains  of 
Kentucky  and  an  active  steward  in  New  Or¬ 
leans  are  other  first  fruits  of  the  gracious  har¬ 
vest  from  that  nation  which  was  first  to  hear 
but  has  been  last  to  accept  Christ’s  gospel. 

Mountain  Regions. 

By  action  of  the  General  Conference  the 
evangelization  of  the  mountain  regions  has 
been  made  the  business  of  the  whole  Church. 
According  to  the  reports  of  our  own  represent¬ 
atives  in  the  mountains,  Southern  Methodism 
is  far  from  occupying  all  the  territory,  and  in 
places  is  on  the  retrograde.  In  one  State  her 
membership  in  twenty-three  mountain  coun¬ 
ties  is  one  and  one-half  per  cent  of  the  three 
hundred  thousand  population,  and  is  not  as 
large  as  it  was  thirty  years  ago.  In  another 
State  and  within  the  bounds  of  a  strong  Con¬ 
ference  she  has  only  one  pastoral  charge  with¬ 
in  each  of  two  counties  and  is  without  a 
church  in  another  county.  Still  another  moun¬ 
tain  State  is  represented  as  having  a  district 
twenty  by  thirty  miles,  with  twenty  thousand 
inhabitants,  in  which  there  is  neither  church 
nor  preacher  of  any  denomination. 

The  Great  West. 

The  West  is  the  Church’s  greatest  home  mis¬ 
sion  field.  The  population  is  cosmopolitan, 
with  a  tremendous  trend  from  Christianity. 
It  is  estimated  that  two-thirds  of  the  popula¬ 
tion  are  not  connected  with  any  Church  what¬ 
soever.  As  a  result  of  statehood  in  Oklahoma 

1 13  ] 


modern  schoolhouses  are  being  built  in  the  In¬ 
dian  Territory  part  of  the  State,  which  become 
new  community  centers  and  multiply  opportuni¬ 
ties  for  spreading  the  gospel.  In  one  presiding 
elder’s  district  forty  preaching  places  have 
been  added  since  the  session  of  the  Annual 
Conference,  while  it  is  claimed  that  sixty  new 
pastoral  charges  could  be  formed  within  the 
bounds  of  the  Conference.  Home  seekers 
by  the  thousands  are  rushing  into  these  ter¬ 
ritories,  and  must  be  shepherded  and  housed. 
So  great  is  the  emergency  that  presiding  elders 
are  literally  begging  the  Church  to  “send  on 
more  men”  and  the  means  of  assisting  in  their 
support.  To  meet  the  urgent  demands  laymen 
have  been  pressed  into  service  to  organize 
Churches  and  pastoral  charges. 

In  the  Northwest  Southern  Methodism  faces 
a  crisis.  Strategic  centers  must  be  manned  by 
men  of  ability  and  adequately  supported,  or  the 
field  will  be  lost.  Already  promising  charges 
have  been  abandoned.  On  the  other  hand,  our 
success  in  Portland  and  Seattle,  made  possible 
by  the  liberal  donations  of  the  Boards  of  Mis¬ 
sions  and  Church  Extension,  has  been  most  en¬ 
couraging. 


Financial. 

The  financial  showing,  considering  the  strin¬ 
gency  of  the  times,  is  very  encouraging.  The 
total  income  of  the  Board  for  the  fiscal  year 
was  $593,056.  This  is  an  increase  over  the 
past  year  of  $52,533.  This  is  the  largest  amount 
received  any  year  in  the  history  of  the  Board, 
and  is  the  largest  increase  in  twenty  years,  ex¬ 
cept  one.  The  most  remarkable  fact  in  this 
financial  exhibit  is  that  more  than  $200,000  of 
the  whole  amount  was  in  specials,  bequests,  and 
other  voluntary  gifts,  an  increase  in  that  line 
of  $60,565  over  last  year.  This  is  the  largest 
amount  and  the  largest  increase  in  that  line 
in  the  history  of  the  Board.  Twenty  Annual 
Conferences  have  paid  the  assessment  in  full, 
some  of  them  much  more,  and  there  is  a  grow¬ 
ing  disposition  to  go  beyond  the  assessment. 

1 14  ] 


Such,  gratifying  increase  will  continue  as 
long  as  persistent,  united  efforts  are  put  forth 
to  deepen  conviction  and  then  turn  that  convic¬ 
tion  into  action.  The  standard  set  by  the  Board 
at  its  Annual  Meeting  of  an  average  of  two 
dollars  a  member  and  a  contribution  of  some 
amount  from  every  member,  together  with  the 
“Every  Member  Campaign”  now  being  carried 
on  throughout  the  Church,  should  greatly  in¬ 
crease  this  amount. 

The  receipts  of  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Mis¬ 
sion  Board  were  $238,941.  This  gives  a  total 
for  foreign  missions  of  $831,997.  This  is  forty- 
seven  cents  a  member  for  our  1,770,631  mem¬ 
bers — an  increase  of  two  cents  over  last  year. 
The  Annual  Conferences  collected  and  expended 
for  domestic  missions  $286,837.  The  Woman’s 
Home  Mission  Society  received  in  cash  $127,- 
094,  and  in  vouchers  for  money  expended  in 
city  mission  work  $40,724.  The  sum  spent  in 
purely  local  work  was  included  in  these  figures 
last  year,  but  is  not  this  year,  which  will  ac¬ 
count  for  the  apparent  decrease,  whereas  there 
was  a  good  increase.  The  total  for  domestic 
missions  was  $454,665,  or  24  cents  a  member — 
an  increase  of  1  cent  a  member.  Adding  to¬ 
gether  foreign  and  domestic  receipts,  we  have 
a  total  for  missions  proper  of  $1,286,662,  or  71 
cents  a  member — an  increase  of  3  cents.  The 
Church  Extension  Board  raised  $183,503.  The 
total  for  missions  and  Church  Extension  was 
$1,470,165,  or  80  cents  a  member — an  increase 
of  5  cents. 

Woman’s  Fobeign  Missionary  Society. 

The  Woman’s  Board  followed  the  General 
Board  of  Missions  into  China  in  1878,  sending 
Miss  Lochie  Rankin,  of  Tennessee,  as  the  first 
missionary.  The  work  extended,  Mexico  and 
Brazil  being  entered  in  1881,  and  Indian  Ter¬ 
ritory,  Korea,  and  Cuba  following.  For  the  first 
decade,  from  1878  to  1888,  twenty-six  mission¬ 
aries  were  appointed  to  China,  Mexico,  and 
Brazil.  Korea  and  Cuba  were  not  entered  by 
the  Woman’s  Board  until  1897  and  1900. 

To-day  (1909)  there  are  six  countries  occu- 
[  is  I 


pied  by  the  Woman’s  Board,  with  94  mission¬ 
aries,  226  assistants,  26  boarding  schools,  51 
day  schools,  5,003  pupils,  128  Bible  women,  and 
525  scholarships. 

China  is  well  occupied  by  the  Woman’s 
Board.  There  are  28  missionaries,  besides  53 
native  teachers  and  helpers,  8  boarding  schools, 
31  day  schools,  1,179  pupils,  86  Bible  women,  3 
Bible  schools,  104  scholarships,  1  hospital. 

Mexico  has  21  missionaries,  99  teachers  and 
helpers,  19  Bible  women,  7  boarding  schools, 
7  day  schools,  with  2,745  pupils,  and  137  schol¬ 
arships. 

Brazil  has  22  missionaries,  51  teachers  and 
helpers,  17  Bible  women,  52  scholarships,  6 
boarding  schools,  6  day  schools,  with  795  pupils. 

Korea  has  12  missionaries,  30  teachers  and 
helpers,  4  boarding  schools,  9  day  schools,  38 
Bible  women,  108  scholarships,  262  pupils. 

Cuba  has  4  missionaries,  14  helpers  and 
teachers,  2  boarding  and  day  schools,  332  pu¬ 
pils,  and  31  scholarships. 

Property  owned  by  the  Woman’s  Board  in 
China,  Mexico,  Korea,  Brazil,  and  Cuba,  $520,- 
000. 

Summary. 

In  our  six  foreign  fields  we  have:  Mission¬ 
aries  (including  those  of  the  Woman’s  Board 
and  wives  of  missionaries),  292  (increase,  11); 
native  traveling  preachers,  90  (decrease,  21); 
local  preachers,  165  (increase,  20);  members, 
23,454  (increase,  2,464);  Sunday  schools,  424 
(increase,  23);  scholars,  21,661  (increase,  1,- 
029);  Epworth  Leagues,  155  (increase,  12); 
Epworth  League  members,  5,036  (decrease, 
117);  organized  Churches,  526  (increase,  101); 
self-supporting  Churches,  106  (increase,  1) ; 
church  buildings,  178;  boarding  schools,  41 
(including  schools  of  Woman’s  Board) ;  pupils 
in  boarding  schools,  5,492  (including  schools  of 
Woman’s  Board);  day  schools,  74  (including 
schools  of  Woman’s  Board) ;  pupils  in  day 
schools,  4,080  (including  schools  of  Woman’s 
Board);  hospitals  and  dispensaries,  7  (includ- 
one  of  the  Woman’s  Board) ;  patients  treated, 

[  16  ] 


75,202  (including  Woman’s  Board) ;  total  col¬ 
lected  on  the  field,  $48,949  (increase,  $8,036); 
total  value  of  mission  property,  $1,261,944  (in¬ 
crease,  $8,481). 

Laymen’s  Missionaey  Movement. 

In  1908  the  laymen  of  our  Church  to  the 
number  of  one  thousand  held  a  Conference 
in  Chattanooga  under  the  presidency  of  Mr. 
John  R.  Pepper.  The  spirit  and  purpose  of  the 
Conference  was  one  of  hearty  cooperation  with 
the  Board  of  Missions  and  the  constituted  au¬ 
thorities  of  the  Church  in  the  work  of  the 
evangelization  of  the  world.  While  the  genius 
of  the  Movement  has  placed  the  emphasis  upon 
the  foreign  field,  where  it  rightly  belongs,  the 
interests  of  the  work  at  home  have  not  been 
lost  sight  of. 

The  year’s  woi'k  has  not  been  so  much  that 
of  raising  money  as  of  the  organization  of  the 
laymen  and  the  dissemination  of  missionary  in¬ 
formation.  The  President  has  given  almost  his 
entire  time  to  correspondence,  to  visiting  Con¬ 
ferences,  including  those  in  the  West,  and  to  a 
careful  study  of  the  best  method  of  reaching 
and  qualifying  the  five  hundred  thousand  men 
of  the  Church  for  any  duty  the  pastor  may  re¬ 
quire  of  them. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Movement  elected  by 
the  Executive  Committee,  Mr.  W.  B.  Stubbs, 
has  thrown  himself  with  characteristic  zeal  and 
energy  into  the  work  of  creating  an  intelligent 
conception  of  the  Movement,  a  missionary  con¬ 
science,  and  a  personal  sense  of  financial  re¬ 
sponsibility.  At  the  sessions  of  the  Conferences 
last  fall  the  leaders  adopted  plans  for  raising 
the  missionary  income  to  $1,000,000,  according 
to  the  Chattanooga  resolutions.  Every  Annual 
Conference  and  four-fifths  of  the  districts  have 
been  organized  by  the  election  of  a  lay  leader, 
while  some  4,000  Churches  have  their  mission¬ 
ary  committees.  More  than  5,000  copies  of  “The 
Call  of  God  to  Men”  have  been  sold,  and  a  sec¬ 
ond  edition  of  1,000  copies  printed.  Leaflets  to 
the  number  of  16  have  been  issued  and  600,000 

t  17  ] 


copies  distributed.  With  the  laity  of  the 
Church  informed,  aroused,  and  in  the  spirit  of 
prayer  and  hearty  cooperation,  we  may  confi¬ 
dently  expect  a  great  advance  in  the  near  fu¬ 
ture. 

The  Educational  Department. 

Under  ever-increasing  calls  for  field  service 
from  the  Secretary,  and  constantly  multiplying 
orders  for  plans  and  materials  for  the  mission¬ 
ary  education  of  the  Church,  the  Educational 
Department  has  been  taxed  to  the  limit  of 
force  and  funds  to  meet  the  demands  upon  it. 
The  results  of  the  work  of  the  department,  how¬ 
ever,  have  been  gratifying.  In  some  direc¬ 
tions  they  have  far  outrun  our  expectations. 
In  the  following  definite  lines  of  work,  men¬ 
tioned  in  the  last  report,  we  are  grateful  to 
note  development  and  progress: 

1.  The  making  and  circulation  of  missionary 
literature. 

2.  The  promotion  of  missionary  instruction  in 
the  Epworth  League. 

3.  The  promotion  of  missionary  education  in 
the  Sunday  school. 

4.  The  development  of  missionary  knowledge 
and  interest  in  the  schools  and  colleges. 

5.  Summer  Training  Conferences. 

The  demand  for  literature  has  geen  greater 
than  ever.  The  books  and  leaflets,  as  well  as 
Go  Forward,  have  had  an  increased  circulation. 
The  Sunday  school  literature  has  carried  the 
study  of  missions  into  the  schools.  Quarterly 
lessons  have  been  prepared  by  the  Secretary 
and  published  in  the  quarterlies.  They  have 
been  received  with  highest  commendation.  The 
Study  Classes  have  been  enthusiastic.  More 
than  thirty  thousand  were  engaged  in  the  stud¬ 
ies  during  the  first  quarter. 

This  department  has  established  closer  con¬ 
nection  with  the  Student  Volunteers  of  our  col¬ 
leges,  which  will  give  them  a  more  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  Board  and  its  methods  and 
of  the  fields  and  their  needs.  It  will  also  put 
the  Board  in  touch  and  sympathy  with  them 
during  their  student  life.  Thus  the  work  of  the 

[  18  ] 


department  has  not  only  grown  in  the  lines  al¬ 
ready  taken  up,  but  it  has  also  been  extended 
on  new  lines  of  effort. 

The  Methodist  Training  School  fob  Chris¬ 
tian  Workers. 

It  is  just  three  years  since  this  school  was  or¬ 
ganized.  During  the  first  session  thirty  stu¬ 
dents  were  enrolled,  last  session  fifty-nine, 
while  this  year  seventy-six  young  men  and 
women  have  been  in  training  for  missionary 
service.  Every  one  of  the  twelve  graduates  is 
now  engaged  in  missionary  work — five  in  the 
foreign  fields  and  seven  in  the  cities  of  the 
home  land.  There  are  thirteen  members  of  the 
senior  class  this  session,  all  of  whom  are  ap¬ 
plying  for  missionary  service.  Many  students 
who  were  unable  to  complete  the  course  of 
training  are  devoting  themselves  wholly  to 
Christian  work. 

The  school  is  now  well  organized,  with  a  fac¬ 
ulty  of  seven  teachers,  who  are  confident,  en¬ 
thusiastic,  and  untiring  in  their  efforts  to  build 
up  the  institution.  They  deserve  the  gratitude 
of  this  Board  for  working  out  a  curriculum 
that  seems  to  be  almost  ideal  for  missionary 
candidates.  In  order  to  have  facilities  for 
such  training  the  school  is-  located  down  in  the 
heart  of  the  city,  where  it  has  access  to  all 
classes  of  the  city  population.  Since  practically 
all  of  our  missionary  candidates  must  sooner 
or  later  be  city  workers,  this  definite  and  first¬ 
hand  study  of  the  city  and  training  for  city 
missions  is  of  very  great  value.  The  school 
now  occupies  four  brick  buildings  facing  the 
State  Capitol  on  the  east  side.  In  connection 
with  the  practical  training  the  school  uses  two 
other  buildings,  where  Institutional  Churcn 
methods  are  adopted — namely,  Warioto  Settle¬ 
ment,  in  North  Nashville,  and  Community  Hall, 
in  the  center  of  the  city. 

During  the  last  two  days  in  December  the 
school  entertained  and  otherwise  aided  the  Mis¬ 
sionary  Leaders’  Conference,  which  brought  to¬ 
gether  seventy-three  delegates,  representing 

[1»] 


practically  every  Conference  east  of  Denver. 
The  school  conducted  the  Midwinter  Missionary 
Institute  during  the  first  ten  days  in  January. 
About  eighty  delegates  were  in  attendance,  and 
the  work  and  spirit  of  the  entire  Institute  were 
exceedingly  gratifying. 

The  World  Missionary  Conference. 

This  meeting  is  to  be  held  in  Edinburgh, 
Scotland,  June  14-24,  1910.  It  will  be  composed 
of  1,100  delegates  from  all  Protestant  Churches 
and  mission  fields  of  Christendom.  It  will  be 
one  of  the  most  notable  gatherings  in  the  his¬ 
tory  of  the  Church.  The  whole  field  of  mis¬ 
sions  is  being  studied  beforehand  by  eight  ex¬ 
pert  commissioners.  They  will  bring  to  the 
Conference  a  mass  of  information  which  will 
reveal  the  weakness  and  strength  of  missionary 
method,  etc.  Our  Church  is  entitled  to  31  dele¬ 
gates — 19  to  be  chosen  by  the  Parent  Board  and 
12  to  be  chosen  by  the  Woman’s  Board.  They 
are  to  be  chosen  by  a  committee  appointed  by 
the  Board.  No  expense  of  travel  has  been 
provided  for.  Our  Board  was  honored  in 
the  election  of  its  Senior  Secretary  by  the  In¬ 
ternational  Committee  as  Vice  Chairman  of  the 
Second  Commission,  “The  Native  Church  and 
Its  Work.” 


[20] 


